In simple words, Cervical spondylosis is a general condition that affects aging individuals. It predominantly affects the joints and discs in your cervical spine that is your neck. It’s also known as neck arthritis. As the disks in your cervical spine dehydrate and shrink, symptoms of spondylosis develop, including bone spurs. Cervical spondylosis is quite common and worsens with age.
Cervical spondylosis is not only caused by age but also due to injury, herniated discs, ligament stiffness, and occupational hazards.
What are the symptoms of Cervical Spondylosis?
Most people don’t have symptoms of cervical spondylosis, but some experience a sense of pain or muscle spasms. The pain areas include the back, thigh, and buttocks that worsen with standing, neck, and shoulders. You might notice a common headache, the sensation of pins and needles, or stiffness.
The contraction of space required by the spinal cord and the nerve roots that pass through the spine to the rest of the body happens due to Cervical spondylosis. If one of both spinal cord or nerve roots are pinched, you might feel the tingling sensation, numbness, weakness in your arms, hands, legs or feet, lack of coordination and trouble walking, lack of bowel control, and more.
Causes
As mentioned above, cervical spondylosis can happen due to many factors; the following are the ones that you see in most of the patients :
Dehydrate spinal disease: Discs provide cushioning between the vertebrae of your spine. Once you cross the age of 40, you may experience that your spinal discs are beginning to dry out and are shrinking, which leads to more bone-on-bone contact between the vertebrae.
Herniated disk: Age also affects the outside of your spinal disks. Cracks often develop, leading to herniated discs, which can sometimes press on your spinal cord and nerve roots.
Injury: Injury can also be the reason for cervical spondylitis. If you have suffered an injury to your neck during a fall or car accident, it can expedite the aging causing cervical spondylitis.
Ligament stiffness: Ligaments are cords of tissue that connect your bones. Your spinal ligaments can get your neck more stiff as you age, making it less flexible. The inflexibility may affect your neck movement and makes the neck feels firm.
Is physiotherapy good for cervical spondylosis? Treating by cervical spondylosis physiotherapy:
A physiotherapist helps you with physiotherapy exercises and activities for cervical spondylosis to help you with stretches and strengthening the muscles in your neck and shoulders. There are people with cervical spondylosis that benefit from the use of traction, which can aid in providing more space within your spine if your nerve roots are getting pinched. So, does physiotherapy help cervical spondylosis? Physiotherapy exercises for cervical spondylosis can be beneficial. However, there is no concrete evidence to prove alone physiotherapy treatment for cervical spondylosis can help with cervical spondylosis. However, mobilization, in collaboration with Cervical Spondylosis Physiotherapy, is useful for pain reduction and improvement in everyday functioning.
Various exercise regimens are strengthening, provide endurance and coordination, and are more beneficial than conventional pharmaceutical care, but there is only moderate evidence related to the above regimes.
Let’s go through some Cervical Spondylosis physiotherapies & treatments that can help with cervical spondylosis.
The heat therapy
You can get pain relief from sore muscles by using a heating pad or a cold pack on your neck. Exercising regularly can help you recover faster. By wearing a soft neck support or soft collar can provide temporary relief. But, you shouldn’t wear a neck support or collar for extended periods because that can make your muscles weak.
Acupuncture therapy
By using acupuncture, you can eliminate or reduce neck pain for patients suffering from cervical spondylosis. Acupuncture eases discomfort caused by cervical spondylosis.
Deep tissue massage
Deep tissue massage technique aims at spasms and chronic muscle tension that possibly develops due to daily life stress. You could also suffer from spasms or muscle tension because of strains or sprains. The therapist applies direct pressure and massage to release the tension in your soft tissues. A deep tissue massage commonly focuses more on an area of chronic pain.
Home Exercises.
Home exercises can help with managing the pain. Exercises like neck Extention and Next Flexion can help improve flexibility & movement of the neck. Take the assistance of a physiotherapist who can guide you through your home exercises. They make sure that you don’t put strain on your neck by performing the exercises in the wrong way.
So these are things you must keep in mind while dealing with cervical spondylosis. Physical therapy can be beneficial if you want to manage your pain and recovery faster. Make sure you take the help from a physiotherapist who will help you deal with cervical spondylosis is a better way.
